What if I told you that publishing options were right under your nose?
During my BA in Professional Writing, I was given both encouragement and preparation for the blatant reality: getting published in Australia is not easy.
The competitiveness of the field was clear to me the moment I peeked outside the classroom. While rejection letters are a way to build resilience and test our writer spirit, they are not fun to receive. In my experience, confining my focus on traditional publishers increased my chance to receive more of them.
I have five published books, only one, A Birthday Boy Named Jesus, was published traditionally. There are other options.
Awards
My first book, Ella’s Handbag, was published through the Jan Bavinton Memorial Award (given by the Victoria Independent Education Union): a grant offered each year to school service officers who have a worthy professional development project. The award criteria was not specific to writing books, yet I was fortunate enough to recognise the opportunity at an unassuming work conference, and it became my breakthrough.
My advice is to keep your eyes peeled and think wider. Writing competitions are not the only way to achieve financial support for writing; this award came with a $3000 grant. The key in securing such an award in my experience is to write a good proposal: tell a story; connect self to the project; make clear your point-of-difference; show your passion; and of course, meet the criteria.
Importantly, deliver what you propose; ensure your book contains all you say it will; polish the work; realise you are responsible for coordinating everything.
Sponsorship
My book Lollipop Whistle Woes: Introducing Lottie was published with the financial support of School Crossings Victoria (SVC) and 16 Victorian Councils and Organisations. The publishing costs were paid by SVC who raised money for the school crossing’s initiative that the book was a part. This gave me plenty of exposure since all of the contributors promoted the book. SVC also delivered the book to most Victorian schools; it has been read many times by the main character in the book, Lottie, who was created as a live mascot to regularly visit primary schools to promote school crossing safety.
This also gave me an opportunity to print books to sell myself at a heavily reduced price. Ultimately, building networks and a good reputation provided this opportunity for me. I met SCV Chairperson, Dreena Lawrence-Gray, five years prior to the book opportunity, while studying my degree. I contacted her as part of a unit of study I was completing with my group. The assessment task was to create a media kit for a real organisation – the group chose SCV. Dreena and I stayed in touch over the years and when the school crossings initiative was being developed, she thought of me.
Collaboration
I joined forces with a photographer to produce my book 21 Choices. While this book was ultimately self-published in digitally form, having another person who I didn’t have to pay, would share in the coordination, and would assist with the marketing, made the process much easier.
I also published Hip Hip Hooray through self-publishing so I have the experience to compare and I would certainly collaborate in the future if the opportunity presented itself. Most of us know that self-publishing is a risky business and can become expensive. Although I took on the role of graphic designer for this project, printing costs alone were substantial.
It is important to put emotions aside here and be analytical in evaluating the manuscript’s merit. Completing a SWOT analysis worked for me to measure the pros and cons of the project before moving forward. I also recommend that you seek unbiased feedback and be open to constructive criticism – it could save dollars.
Here you have some real publishing options that can increase your chances of being published in Australia. Just be prepared to coordinate the book publishing process with a keen eye for a good graphic designer and illustrator (if relevant); ISBN purchase; GSM appropriateness; and a good marketing plan. These are merely options that I have stumble on. I am sure there would have to be more. Happy recognising them.
Please note: This blog is not new. I used the topic to run a workshop in the 2013 Omega conference. I presented on the topic at the 2018 Melbourne writer’s conference ‘Breaking the Code’. I’ve talked about it as a guest presenter to my writer’s group and it was published in the 2014 Words with Wings newsletter.
